Saturday, September 19th

Homes destroyed after winds push California fire into desert

By MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

The wind whips embers from the Joshua trees burning in the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

JUNIPER HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Homes were destroyed Friday by an unrelenting wildfire that reached a Mojave Desert community and was still growing on several fronts after burning for nearly two weeks in mountains northeast of Los Angeles.

Officials were investigating the death of a firefighter on the lines of another Southern California wildfire that erupted earlier this month from a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their baby's gender.

The death occurred Thursday in San Bernardino National Forest as crews battled the El Dorado Fire about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of LA, the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement.

In northern Los Angeles County, the Bobcat Fire burned semi-rural desert properties when it was pushed by gusts into the community of Juniper Hills after churning all the way across the San Gabriel Mountains.

Crews protected homes and chased spot fires sparked by embers blown across neighborhoods by erratic winds. Surrounding areas were under evacuation orders and residents of ranches scrambled to get horses and other animals out.

A member of a Los Angeles County Fire crew hoses down hot spots while protecting a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

"We've got a very active firefight on the north end of this fire and we're bringing in more strike teams. We'll be in this firefight for some time," LA County Fire Captain David Dantic said Friday evening. The blaze was also expanding on the eastern and western edges, officials said.

Wyatt Stephenson helped his friend evacuate his home at the top of Juniper Hills.

"We were waiting for the fire to come over the ridge. When it finally came over, we got him out of there," Stephenson said. "We found out later that his house burned. The fire just burned everything."

It wasn't immediately clear how many homes were burned in the area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of downtown LA. No injuries were reported.

On the south side of the blaze, firefighters continued to protect Mount Wilson, which overlooks greater Los Angeles and has a historic observatory founded more than a century ago and numerous broadcast antennas serving Southern California.

Flames dot a hill under a smoky sky from the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The fire that started Sept. 6, has now churned through more than 112 square miles (290 square kilometers) - doubling in size over the last week. It was 15% contained.

The name of the firefighter killed in the nearby El Dorado Fire was being withheld until family members are notified.

"Our deepest sympathies are with the family, friends and fellow firefighters during this time," Forest Service spokesperson Zach Behrens said in the statement.

No other information was released about the firefighter, the agency the firefighter worked for, or the circumstances of the death. The body was escorted down the mountain in a procession of first-responder vehicles.

A statement from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said it was the 26th death involving wildfires besieging the state.

This image taken from video and provided by the Orange County Fire Authority shows a firefighter saluting as a procession carrying a fallen firefighter passes by at the El Dorado Fire in Southern California, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. The death of a firefighter on the lines of a wildfire east of Los Angeles was under investigation Friday as another blaze to the north threatened small communities on the edge of the Mojave Desert. (Orange County Fire Authority via AP)

A new blaze sparked by a vehicle that caught fire was growing in wilderness outside Palm Springs.

To the north, a fire burning for nearly a month in Sequoia National Forest roared to life again Friday and prompted evacuation orders for the central California mountain communities of Silver City and Mineral King.

More than 7,900 wildfires have burned more than 5,300 square miles (13,727 square kilometers) in California this year, including many since a mid-August barrage of dry lightning ignited parched vegetation.

The El Dorado Fire has burned more than 33 square miles (85.4 square kilometers) and was 65% contained, with 10 buildings destroyed and six damaged.

Cal Fire said earlier this month that the El Dorado Fire was ignited Sept. 5 when a couple, their young children and someone there to record video staged the baby gender reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains.

The device was set off in a field and quickly ignited dry grass. The couple frantically tried to use bottled water to extinguish the flames and called 911.

Authorities have not released the identities of the couple, who could face criminal charges and be held liable for the cost of fighting the fire.

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Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

People take photos as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hill, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A man rides a motorcycle down Cima Mesa Rd. as the sun sets while crews battle the Bobcat Fire Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A member of a Los Angeles County Fire makes a stand in front of the advancing Bobcat Fire while protecting a home along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A home burns along Cima Mesa Rd. as the Bobcat Fire advances Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A woman watches as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hill, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A home burns along Cima Mesa Rd. as the Bobcat Fire advances Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A member of a Los Angeles County Fire crew hoses down flames while protecting a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Member of a Los Angeles County Fire crew hose down hot spots while protecting a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Alexis Miller of Los Angeles County Fire hoses down hot spots while protecting a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A home burns along Cima Mesa Rd. as the Bobcat Fire advances Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A home burns along Cima Mesa Rd. as the Bobcat Fire advances Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Members of firefighters crew walk in line on Sept. 5, 2020 in Yucaipa, Calif. Firefighters trying to contain the massive wildfires in Oregon, California and Washington state are constantly on the verge of exhaustion as they try to save suburban houses, including some in their own neighborhoods.(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Firefighters rest during a wildfire in Yucaipa, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. Firefighters trying to contain the massive wildfires in Oregon, California and Washington state are constantly on the verge of exhaustion as they try to save suburban houses, including some in their own neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

This photo provided by Chuck Bennett shows smoke from the Creek Fire filling the air in Yosemite Valley bringing visibility to the point where the canyon walls were not visible or the sun on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. The National Park Service closed Yosemite National Park on Thursday for air quality concerns. (Chuck Bennett via AP)

This photo provided by Chuck Bennett shows smoke from the Creek Fire filling the air in Yosemite National Park bringing visibility to the point where the canyon walls were not visible or the sun on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. The National Park Service closed Yosemite National Park on Thursday for air quality concerns. (Chuck Bennett via AP)

This photo provided by Chuck Bennett shows smoke from the Creek Fire filling the air in Yosemite Valley bringing visibility to the point where the canyon walls were not visible or the sun on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. The National Park Service closed Yosemite National Park on Thursday for air quality concerns. (Chuck Bennett via AP)

This photo provided by Chuck Bennett shows smoke from the Creek Fire filling the air at an empty campsite in Yosemite National Park on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. The National Park Service closed Yosemite National Park on Thursday for air quality concerns. (Chuck Bennett via AP)

This photo provided by Chuck Bennett shows smoke from the Creek Fire filling the air in Yosemite Valley bringing visibility to the point where the canyon walls were not visible or the sun on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. The National Park Service closed Yosemite National Park on Thursday for air quality concerns. (Chuck Bennett via AP)

The wind whips embers from the Joshua trees burned by the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Trees and other vegetation are consumed by the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A recreational vehicle sits at left as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Joshua trees are consumed by the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Smoke rises from the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, with Joshua trees silhouetted. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Firefighter work to douse hotspots from the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A recreational vehicle is consumed by the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A Los Angeles County Fire Department truck drives through smoke, next to a small area burning in the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The Bobcat Fire burns behind a Joshua tree in Juniper Hills, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)